‘Give Us Back Bunny Wailer’s Sceptre!’ Reggae Icon’s Children Demand, Manager Responds: ‘No Way!’

There is a mushrooming kerfuffle over Bunny Wailer’s sceptre and medallions as his children have demanded that these religious and personal artefacts be returned immediately to the family. The iconic singer died on March 2 at a hospital in Kingston.

Following a family meeting last week, the children of Reggae icon Bunny Wailer released a joint statement — through Attorney-at-law Bert Samuels — on Wednesday about their focus moving forward, which family members are authorized to speak on behalf of the family, and demanded a return of their father’s sceptre.

Bunny Wailer’s sceptre is now in the possession of his manager and common-law wife, Maxine Stowe. The sceptre has unique religious, and cultural significance to the Reggae world and the Rastafarian community.

“Our father’s sceptre is sacred. This sceptre, along with his medallions, must be returned to the family to be buried with him, should we so decide,” the release stated.

In an interview with Entertainment Report (ER) last Friday, Stowe had the sceptre with her. She told ER that it was “Bunny’s Solomonic staff, and I have it as a form of protection”.

However, Stowe is not backing down.

“I am under no obligation to give them anything,” she curtly told DancehallMag.

“He has several (staffs), let them look for the other one. The staff will be divided between four spaces, the site at Nine Miles, the family home in the Corporate Area, Trench Town and the Dreamland property. Suppose the staff is slated to be given eventually to the Rasta museum. I am not giving them anything.”

The children’s release attempted to “address the negative and erroneous narrative that is being promulgated”. According to the release, under Samuels’ signature, the 13 children are now concerned with burying their father “with the respect and honour befitting the King,” and continuing the search for Jean Watt, who was Bunny Wailer’s partner of over 50 years.

They are seeking to remove Stowe from the Livingston narrative going forward.

“We recognise that Maxine Stowe has worked as a manager for Bunny Wailer, and for that, we say thank you. Our uncle, Carl Livingston, who is co-executor along with our brother Abijah, cannot legally represent us, neither can he, on his own, authorise Maxine as the family’s representative,” the release said.

The family shared that their uncle invited Stowe to a family meeting about Bunny Wailer’s burial plans, and there was a request for all parties to stay out of the media spotlight.

“The days following, Maxine, in breach of the joint agreement, did interviews on radio, television and print media. Further, she has been announcing our private funeral arrangements to the public without our consent. Consequently, as Bunny Wailer’s children, we are asking her to cease and desist from all engagements on behalf of the Livingston family.”